Weep hole form



May 3, 1960 E. L. JOHNSON wEEP HLE FORM Filed Nov. 22. 1954 INVENTOR 'Dw/N L. JOHNSON Vstyles and hence of different sizes.

WEE? HLE F Edwin L. Jlmson, seattle, wash.; Adaline Mary Johnson, Vexecutrix of said Edwin L. Johnson, deceased Application November 22, 1954, Serial No. 470,286

8 Claims. (Cl. 72-.5)

In building construction, especiallyA in walls where a brick veneer curtain or facing is erected spaced outwardly of a rough inner wall and above a footing, water from condensation collects in the intervening space, and unless this water is promptly drained oi, the building may be rather constantly moist in the interior, to the discomfort of the occupants, and to the detriment of the wall finish and even of furnishings, in addition to which dry rot may begin and spread, from the accumulation of moisture. It is the practice to provide drain apertures, called weep holes, leading from the bottom of the space between the rough wall and the brick veneer curtain; These would provide adequately for drainage, if it were not for the fact that as the brick veneer curtain is erected, mortar droppings from above collect in the lower part-of the space, and so tend to clog the inner ends of the weep holes that have been provided at the footing; moisture still collects in the intervening space and runs down to the footing, where it finds no exit, and collects in pools.

The present invention is directed to the solution of that problem, and solves it by means of a special form, of `sheet metal or the like, of a novel shape, size, and conformation in relation to the structure with which it is used. By virtue of these novel features this form is very readily yet necessarily or semi-automatically.installed in a manner to provide a ledge located, usually, at the height of one brick above the footing. Thereby the ledge delines a tunnel of appreciable length, preferably approximating the length of a brick, between the rough wall and the inner face of bricks in the first course of the facing, and between itself and the footing. Mortar droppings from directly above the ledge will collect upon the ledge, leaving the footing within the tunnel wholly free of droppings, whereas droppings from beyond the ends of the ledge are unlikely to collect upon the footing to a depth to obstruct the entrances to the tunnel. The tunnel therefore constitutes a clear low spot, into which moisture will drain. immediate drainage from the tunnel is provided by means of a hood which constitutes an integral part of the Weep hole form, and which is located, as a necessary result of the manner of the installation of the form as a whole, in a vertical mortar space between bricks of the first course, midway between the ends of the ledge and of the tunnel. The hood is so made that it will prevent entrance of mortar to clog the weep hole or its exit, yet it can be so concealed by mortar as to be quite inconspicuous. Also, it can be readily altered in shape, and in size if necessary, to fit the mortar space which is to receive it, or to adapt it to bricks of different A number of such forms are installed at suitable intervals longitudinally of a wall.

`It is an object of the present invention to provide a pensive, which is convenient to install and-use, which arentI Y Patented May 3, 19160 which requires no great skill nor time for its installation.

works readily into the mortar courses without appreciably disturbing them nor the integrity of the brick facing, and f Furthermore, it is an object to provide a weep hole form of the character indicated which is readily adapted to different styles or sizes of brick, for instance, to common brick or to Roman brick, or, in suitable cases, to concrete blocks ofl one size or another, and especially one which can, within limits, be cut down to accommodate at least two different standard sizes of brick.

Bearing in mind such objects,- the present invention will be more fully understood as this Vspecification progresses and from the accompanying claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the weep hole form is shown in a construction which is presently preferred by me.

.Figure 1 is an isometric view of the weep hole form as it would be supplied for use.

f Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, on the line indicated at 2-2 in Figure 3, through a typical wall, showing the weep hole form installed.

Figure 3 is an outer face view of a wall such as is shown in Figure 2, with a portion of the brick facing broken away to illustrate better the manner of installing the weep hole form.

In a typical construction the inner rough wall, usually of frame construction, rises from the concrete footing F,

between courses, and in the vertical spaces 23 between bricks in the same course.

Preferably, the weep hole form is made of thin and inexpensive sheet material, such, for instance, as galvanized iron sheet. It includes a ledge l of a length which should approximate or even may exceed somewhat the length of a brick with which it is to cooperate, and of a depth from front to rear preferably greater in all instances than the spacing between the rough wall and the brick veneer, but not so great as to project outwardly to the outer face of the bricks of the brick veneer curtain, or facing.

The ledge 1 is provided with means for securing it, for support, upon the rough wall, with its inner edge held closely against the rough wall, and to this end a ange 2 is provided, having holes 3 to receive nails N, driven into the sheathing 12, or is thin enough to permit such nails to be driven through it at random.

Intermediate the ends of the ledge, preferably at the midpoint, and projecting'forwardly of its forward edge,

wings 5 and 6, which are spaced apart in parallel vertical planes disposed at right angles to the plane of the ledge 1, the overall spacing between the wings 5 and 6 being no greater than the width of a vertical mortar space between the bricks of the veneer facing. These wings 5 and 6 are joined by a top strip 7 integral with the ledge, and preferably reeinforced by a raised ridge 8. The forwardto-rear depth of the hood, including the width of the ledge from which it is supported, is such that when the form is installed with the rear edge of the ledge against the planar surface of the rough walls sheathing 12, the hood will project forwardly approximately suiciently to reach the outer face of the brick veneer, but not appreciably beyond that face.

For reasons which will shortly appear, the hood is preferably formed of a rear portion and a front portion, the front portion having its top strip 7 sloped downwardly and outwardly, and having wings, such as the wing 5' shown in Figure 1, Ywhich `are similar to and which correspond Vto -the wings S and respectively of the rear portion, `but which are entirely separate therefrom except as ,they are connected through the top strips 7 .and 7.

At the -start of the installation of the brick veneer facing, it is customary to install 'a flashing sheet 13 extend- Ving a distance up the lower portion of the sheathing 12 and extending outwardly `over the footing F. The iirst course of bricks 21 is laid in the usual manne-r, with the exception that att-suitable longitudinal intervals a weep hole form, as described above, is installed. In installing the sarne, the ledge l rests upon the ybricks v21 ofthe first course, with the hood 4 -located in a vertical mortar space 23 between two adjoining bricks in that first course. The space beneath the ledge constitutes a tunnel T. The outer portion of the hood, being supported only by the flexible juncture between the top strip portions 7 and 7', is sufficiently yieldable that,if it projects out too far, it may be pressed inwardly, or if 'it does not project out far enough, it may be raised and so extended somewhat. The side wings of the outer portion of the hood Vmay readilybe exed slightly inwardly to lie between the wings 5 and 6 of the rear portion, if that islfound necessary -in order to push the outerl hood portion inwardly somewhat. Preferably, when the ,hoodV is properly installed its lower outer point projects not greatly, if at all, beyond the outer face of the brick veneer, more or less as shown in Figure 2, and only suiciently, if at all, to prevent mortar from falling down into and clogging the space beneath it. The vertical mortar space above the top strip 7 would normally be filled with mortar, thereby concealing all except the extreme tip of the hood, yet without danger of clogging the weep hole, and at the same time preserving the integrity of the mortar bond throughout the first course 2l.

The building up of the brick veneer curtain proceeds in the normal way, with *the laying of the second course of bricks 22. In the laying of these bricks 22 no thought need be given to the weep hole form. Mortar which may drop from the rear of the vmortar spaces or 23 directly above the weep hole form will only Vcollect on the ledge 1, as shown at Min Figure 2, or that 'dropping from beyond the ends of the ledge will fall to the bottom of the interior space, coming to rest upon the footing, but still the ledge 1 is suiciently high above the footing that it is extremely unlikely that mortar droppings will collect anywhere to an extent to interfere with drainage into the clear space or tunnel T beneath the ledge 1, from which it can nd its way out through the weep hole between the bricks separated by the wings 5 and 6, and, of course, between these Wings.

It is the intention that such weep hole forms be installed at approximately four-foot intervals, depending of course, upon local practice. Obviously, theweep hole forms could be so formed, or installed in the second course, so as to elevate the ledge 1 high enough above the footing F to insure that the droppings can not rise to a height to obstruct the entrances to the tunnel T.

lf a given weep hole form has wings 5 aand 6 which are too long for the height of the brick they are to be used with, for instance, if the brick is shallow Roman brick, these wings, beingrnormally of sheet metal, may readily be cut otr with a pair of tin snips, anti the weep hole form can thus be adapted on the job to une with the shallower bricks.

The word brick, as used herein, is intended to include not only the various kstyles and sizes of burned or baked clay bricks, but blocks of molded concrete or the like, also of various styles and sizes, such as are laid up in a manner analogous to bricks, or any construction wherein the problem of clogging of weep holes by mortar drop- :pingsis encountered.

I claim as my invention:

1. A Weep hole form comprising an elongated flat sheet of material, which in use is disposed in a horizontal plane, a narrow top strip of sheet material extending outwardly and downwardly from and in a direction at right angles to one of the longer edges thereof, intermediate the ends of the flat sheet, two side wings of sheet material extending from the opposite edges of the top strip, downwardly in planes which are parallel, and perpendicular to the plane of the at-V sheet, to define -with said top strip Va hood, said hood Vbeing disposed wholly'below -theplane of said at sheet, and means extending along that longer edge of the at sheet which is opposite the top strip, for supporting engagement with a support, thereby to support the weep hole form.

2. A weep hole form as defined in claim l, wherein the top strip, in at least the outer portion of the hood, slopes Voutwardly and downwardly to an outer tip located at a Vlevel near the lower edge of the side Wings.

3. A building construction comprising, in combination, a footing, a rough wall rising from said footing at a distance inwardly from the outer surface thereof, a veneer curtain formed of bricks laid in superimposed motared courses supported upon the outer portion of said footing, spaced from the rough wall, horizontal ledges of sheet material secured at intervals in the length of the Wall against the surface of the rough wall, at the height at least'as great'as the height of a brick above the footing, and each of a width and located to project forwardly into the mortar space between bricks of a lower and an upper course, to define a tunnel beneath the ledge, and between the ledge and the footing, a hood supported from and intermediate the ends of said ledge, including two side wings of sheet material which are disposed in parallel vertical planes transverse to the length of the ledge, and which are-spaced apart by no more than the width of a vertical mortar space in the lower course, and a top strip joining the side wings and sloping downwardly and outwardly, the hood being located within such a mortar space, and communicating freely with said tunnel, and lthe hood being of a size to extend to butnot appreciably outwardly beyond the outer `face of the brick veneer curtain, in the vicinity of the footing, to define a weep hole for draining the tunnel.

4. A building construction comprising, in combination, a vsupporting footing, a rough wall rising from said footing at a distance inwardly from the outer surface thereof,

' a veneer curtain formed of bricks laid in superposed mor- .tared courses, supported upon'the outer portion of said footing, spaced from the Yrough wall, horizontal ledges of sheet material having supporting means along one edge Vsupported from and contacting said rough wall throughout the length of such edge, the ledges being spaced at intervals in the length of the wall, and being spaced above the footing by at least the height of a course of bricks, and each ledge Ybeing of a width such that it extends into the mortar space between a lower and an upper course to define a tunnel between the footing and the ledge and the rough wall and the veneeer curtain, a hood including two side wings also of sheetniaterial spaced apart by a distance approximating the width of a vertical mortar space in the course below the ledge, and located in such a `mortar space, and a top strip joining said side wings and extending from the ledge outwardly to but not appreciably beyond the vouter face' of the veneer curtain, in the vicinity of the footing, said side wings and top strip cooperating to define a clear weep hole communicating freely with the tunnel and'extending to the exterior of the brick veneer curtain, in the vicinity of the footing, for drainage from the tunnel.

5. A building construction as in claim 4, characterized in that each side wing of each hood is divided into 'separate inner and outer parts, the top strip being connected to all such parts and constituting the 'sole connection betWen the several parts, kand in that the-'top strip slopes 5 downwardly and outwardly from the level of the ledge, emerging in the vicinity of the lower face of the bricks whereon the ledge rests.

6. A weep hole form as in claim 1, wherein each side wing is divided, along a line transverse to the top strip, into two separate adjoining parts disposed substantially coplanar, but capable of overlapping at their adjacent edges by bending of the top strip which supports all thereof, along the line of division of the side wings.

7. A weep hole form as in claim 6, wherein the parts of the side wings farthest from the flat sheet are of triangular shape, and the portion of the top strip intermediate said triangular Wing parts inclines outwardly and downwardly from the plane of the at sheet.

8. A weep hole form as in claim 1, wherein the top strip inclines outwardly and on said one side of the plane of the flat sheet, to a level at its tip approximating the level of the lowermost edges of the side wings.

6 References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McElligott et al Apr. 2, 1907 Wilkins Mar. 3, 1931 Binkley Feb. 9, 1932 Bul-ks May 17, 1932 Walper Apr. 2, 1935 Wilson Sept. 3, 1940 Burson Dec. 24, 1940 Klunder June 6, 1944 Moore Nov. 3, 1953 Xanten Apr. 12, 1955 Murphy Jan. 13, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Moore Aire Vents; Modern Specialties Corp., 5016 South Dixie, West Palm Beach, F1a., pages 3 and 4. 

